Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. In the US, 1 out of 8 is likely to develop this within their lifetime. While it is very important to diagnose it at its early stages, most women who acquire the disease are not able to identify its symptoms and undergo chemotherapy during the crucial stages. While this infamous chemotherapykills the cancer cells, it also kills the good cells, which leads to the deterioration of the body's immune system, thereby lessening the patient's chance of survival.

But a study in Amsterdam may have just found the right alternative to chemo, claiming to cure breast cancer in just 11 days!

The research was presented by Professor Nigel Bundered of the European Breast Cancer Conference held in Amsterdam. They studied the effectiveness of the drugs Herceptin (aka trastuzumab) and Lapatinib. Both have already been used for the treatment of breast cancer. However, this was the first time that the drugs were combined together. They had to test the pair's ability to conquer a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 or HER2 which plays a key role in the growth and division of cancer cells.

They did the test on 257 women with breast cancer who were HER2 positive. They divided the number into two, half of which would take the pair, while the other half would be the control group who would take the Herceptin alone. The results? The half who took the drug combo had significant changes on their cancer! 11% was found out to be cleared of cancer within 2 weeks, while 17% had dramatically shrunk tumors. On the other hand, only 3% of the control group showed a change in their tumor size.

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK. However, the study still needs to run some tests and still has a long way to go before getting into the market. But the important fact is, humanity is finally conquering one of its demons which is cancer.